Force Majeure -- A Major Force?
Post in DiligenceChina the other day talking about how force majeure is much more common in China than in other countries. We have no personal knowledge of this as this has never happened to any of our clients. Steve and I will be in China in early February (me for a couple of weeks, Steve for a couple of months or more) and we will try to find out more on this then. Not sure if this is confined to certain industries or regions and we will be checking this out as well. Perhaps most importantly, we are not sure if DiligenceChina is just referring to companies seeking to use force majeure to avoid their obligations or if the courts are also taking this expansive view.
Comments (2)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endMason Smith - January 26, 2006 9:57 PM
I read the Diligence China post and I too am curious. I have been doing business in China for ten years and though I have had to deal with many excuses for the failure of the Chinese company to follow our contract, including the force majeure clause ("someone offered me more than you")I am not aware of the courts actually going along with this.
John M. Hafen - January 27, 2006 3:08 PM
I would love to hear what you find in China. Judging by my experience, if DiligenceChina is correct, China's approach to force majeure is much more liberal than the Western world.